Background and career
David Josué Jiménez Silva (born 8 January 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who currently plays as a central or an attacking midfielder for Hong Kong Premier League club Sha Tin. Widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation and among the greatest players in Premier League history, he is known for his balance, ball control and agility in close spaces, combined with his skill, composure, passing and flair on the ball. Silva spent seven years of his professional career with Valencia, playing from 2004 to 2010, and won the Copa del Rey in 2008. In the summer of 2010, he moved to Manchester City and appeared in over 400 matches for the club, winning four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five League Cups. Silva was also named in the PFA Team of the Year three times and is the quickest player to reach 200 wins in the Premier League. He left Manchester City in 2020 after a ten-year tenure and returned to La Liga with Real Sociedad, where he won his second Copa del Rey in 2020. Later on, he sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury during preseason training with Real Sociedad, which forced him to retire in July 2023. Silva returned to football from retirement in October 2026, signing for Sha Tin. Silva represented Spain, from his debut for the senior team in 2006 until his international retirement in 2018. He formed a midfield partnership with the likes of Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fàbregas which led to three consecutive international tournament victories – UEFA Euro 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2012. One of 13 Spanish players to have amassed 100 caps, Silva scored 35 goals for Spain, making him the 5th highest goalscorer in their history, and also provided 29 assists, making him the second-highest assist provider in their history.
David Josué Jiménez Silva was born on 8 January 1986 in Arguineguín, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, to Fernando Jiménez, a former municipal police officer who eventually was responsible for the safety of the Valencia stadium and Eva Silva. His father, Fernando, is Spanish (Canarian) while his mother, Eva, is of Japanese heritage, claimed by the Canarian media. Silva began playing football in the youth team of San Fernando, near Maspalomas. Originally, he played as a goalkeeper, before becoming a winger and mirrored his game around his footballing idol as a youth, Michael Laudrup. When he was 14, he received an offer to become a youth player at Valencia, which he accepted. He stayed in Valencia's youth set-up until he was 17.
A product of Valencia's youth system, Silva made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season, with Segunda División's Eibar, while on loan from Valencia, playing 35 league games and scoring on five occasions. In the following season, he was again out on loan, this time to Celta Vigo, where he played 34 matches, scoring four goals. After two late substitute appearances, the first in a 2–0 home win over Málaga on 28 August 2005, Silva finished as an undisputed starter as the Galician side reached the UEFA Cup straight from the second-tier.
Silva returned to Valencia in the summer of 2006, becoming an automatic first-choice despite his young age of 20. In two seasons combined, he only missed six matches and netted 14 goals, his first league goal coming on 5 November 2006 in a 1–1 draw at Espanyol. On 13 August 2008, he extended his contract by five years, amidst interest of several Premier League clubs including Liverpool and Manchester United. He won the Copa del Rey in 2008, his first title in Spain. After not appearing in the first three months of the 2008–09 season due to a chronic ankle ailment, Silva returned to the squad in mid-December 2008. On 3 January 2009, he scored twice in a 3–1 home win over Atlético Madrid, still contributing with 19 matches (four goals) as the Che qualified for the UEFA Europa League. In the 2009–10 season, Silva scored a career-best eight goals, as Valencia finished in third position and returned to the UEFA Champions League. On 15 April 2010, he scored a brace against Athletic Bilbao in a 2–0 home win, adding three assists in a 4–4 draw at Werder Bremen in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Europa League.
On 30 June 2010, Manchester City announced that they had reached an agreement with Valencia over the transfer of Silva and that he would join the club on a four-year deal, prior to the start of the 2010–11 season. On 14 July, the Premier League side completed the signing and Silva was awarded the number 21 shirt, the same number he wore for Valencia and for the Spanish national team. Silva has said that he was happy at Valencia, but that the club had no choice but to sell him due to their large debts at the time. Manchester City had previously tried to sign Silva and his Valencia teammate David Villa in 2008, but were put off when Valencia quoted a £135 million combined price tag on both players. City manager Roberto Mancini mainly deployed Silva as a winger and later in a trequartista role in his first season. Silva made his Premier League debut on 14 August 2010 in a 0–0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. He scored his first goal for the club on 16 September, eight minutes into the Europa League group match against Red Bull Salzburg. On 17 October, he scored his first league goal in a match against Blackpool, netting City's third goal in a 3–2 away win. He received three consecutive Manchester City Player of the Month awards from October to December 2010. Following his debut season in the Premier League, Silva emerged as one of the league's finest playmakers. Carlos Tevez lauded him as "the best signing we [Manchester City] have made." Silva finished the 2010–11 campaign with four goals and seven assists in 35 league appearances.
Silva began the 2011–12 season in fine form, scoring the third goal in City's 4–0 thrashing of Swansea City and was voted man of the match. He also scored the following week against Bolton Wanderers, and was again named man of the match. Silva then set up two of Sergio Agüero's three goals in City's second home game against Wigan Athletic. He was beginning to form a great understanding with the Argentine, with the pair having combined to score three goals already. After a series of magnificent displays from Silva, City manager Roberto Mancini compared him to fellow Spanish internationals Xavi and Andrés Iniesta and said that Silva is "one of the best players in the world." On 1 October, Silva was awarded the Premier League Player of the Month for his outstanding performances, making it the first time ever that two Manchester City players have won the award in back-to-back months with Edin Džeko winning it the month before. In the first Manchester derby of the season at Old Trafford, Manchester City won 6–1, with Silva proving, yet again, to be instrumental in the Manchester City attack, scoring the fifth goal, setting up Edin Džeko's second with a chested volley pass through the United defense, and participating in the first two goals with excellent passing to James Milner to assist Mario Balotelli. He was described as having been "two steps ahead of all the United players" in the aftermath of the match. On 25 October 2011, in an interview with a Spanish radio station, Silva revealed that he turned down Barcelona and Real Madrid so he could sign for City, and that he wants to stay at the club for years. He commented, "Madrid and Barcelona are great teams, but I'm happy here and I would like to stay here for many years." Former City and England defender Earl Barrett said he is almost impossible to stop due to his ability to create space and Andy Cole, who mostly played for Manchester United, has stated that Silva "is a joy to watch." Having done well to cut the gap between them and Manchester United to just three points, City went into April's Manchester derby knowing that a win would be enough to send them top of the Premier League on goal difference. In a match widely billed as the biggest game in Premier League history, Silva delivered a corner which was headed home by Vincent Kompany for the winner. City triumphed 1–0, and returned to the league summit having been eight points behind their city rivals as recently as the start of that month. On 13 May 2012, with City heading into the final day of the season needing a win over QPR to secure their first top flight title in 44 years, Silva delivered a cross for Edin Džeko to score the equaliser in the 91st minute of the match. In addition to winning his first Premier League medal with Manchester City, he also finished the season on top of the assists table with 15 assists to his name and was one of four City players who made it in the PFA's Premier League Team of the Year.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
